Friday, April 29, 2016

Wow, it's just a spectacular week here in Massachusetts. Little bit hazy today but the flowers are coming up, the grass is starting to turn green, the leaves are starting to pop, temps are in the low 60's F and the biting bugs are still sleeping off the chilly winter months. This is going to be a great spring. I've been puttering around the house doing spring clean up stuff and all sorts of little jobs that have been put off for months. Shop clean up and maintenance chores are up next and also I'll be trying to get out a little bit and enjoy the warm weather over the next few weeks.

There's not too much to report on the project front, but I'll keep plugging away at it and try to get another batch of steel tools out to heat treat soon. More Multi Grip beads are coming up shortly though as well as those sweet little titanium Termites. Meanwhile, here's a little something else to ponder: SportWrench.

Today I have the rest of the Krinkle Texture Titanium Wiener Dogs finished. These are color anodized in my usual wide variety of solid colors, color fades, rainbows, and multi colored effects. There are still a few more left down in the shop to be finished too so these will still be around for a couple of weeks if you miss the sale today. Just drop me a line.

The Color Anodized Wiener Dogs will run $65 plus shipping and the order link is below, one per customer as usual.... Thanks for stopping by folks and I hope you all are winding down your week and preparing for a great weekend ahead!

Friday, April 22, 2016

Happy Spring! We're in full swing here this week with pleasant temps and abundant sunshine. The flowering trees are doing their thing and our eyes are itching and our noses are running from the pollen...always my favorite time of year regardless.

I've been preoccupied with spring cleanup chores and a variety of other endeavors but progress has still been made, slowly but surely. I'm working on a new Mini Prybaby design that will fit in nicely with my past ideas and I think you will enjoy them. Also starting work on the steel version of the little Gremlins. And I have a VERY unusual tool on the way in a month or so that will surprise everyone, an older idea finally brought to fruition...I'm still working on the rest of the titanium Wiener Dogs and will have those done in just a few days. And after a minor last minute setback, the titanium Termites are very close to finished as well so there is lots of nifty ti stuff on the immediate horizon.

Today I have the next offering finished in the series of Multi Grip beads. These hard anodized aluminum Lanslide beads came out even nicer than I expected. I wanted to tone down the color a bit so I gave these a gentle matte finish before sending them out for anodizing. I was anticipating something similar to the Red Zombies last year so the result really surprised me. These are a rich, deep, dark red that I'm calling Black Cherry. Paired with a gray camo cord they are simply stunning.

The Black Cherry Multi Grip Lanslide beads will run $30 each plus shipping and the limit is 3 per customer on them. The link to purchase is below. Thanks for stopping in folks and have a fantastic weekend ahead!

Wednesday, April 06, 2016

Well, that merry old trickster Mother Nature gave us another blast of winter this week and laid a thick blanket of that pesky white stuff on the ground. With the frigid temperatures the snow will be hanging around for a few days but I think by next week we will be free and clear...well on our way to warmer and sunnier days ahead.

I don't have too much to report as far as projects go. I've been catching up on paperwork for taxes and thinking about taking a few days off this month as soon as the nicer weather arrives for good...but I keep chipping away at it all so rest assured, lots of new goodies are on the way.

Today I have the second tool done in the Little Jimmy series. These cute little guys are called "Wiener Dogs", simply because of their long skinny nature. They are about the same length as the original Little Jimmy, 3.5 inches long, and are made of the same .200 thick krinkle texture titanium. The Wieners replace the rounded pry/push tip of the LJ in favor of a combination cap lifter and 5/16" open wrench and offset screwdriver/extra leverage pry tip borrowed from the 2015 Hatchling design. This style gives the tool a little more versatility and function as well as a nice grippy head to grasp on a key ring. I think they look very cool and I've really enjoyed testing these on my own keys these past couple of weeks.

The first wave of Wiener Dogs will be in a plain non anodized finish for a change instead of my usual anodized colors. Lots of people have request plain textured ti tools recently so I will split this batch up and offer them both ways. The anodized half of the batch will be coming in a week or two but today all I have finished are the plain ones. Let me repeat that: I have ONLY non colored ones finished right now, haven't started anodizing the others yet. :)

Wiener Dogs will run $65 plus shipping and the link to purchase is below. Thanks for stopping in everyone and I hope your week is shaping up to be a great one!

Friday, April 01, 2016

And a Happy April to everyone! This is my favorite time of year for a variety of reasons and I'm certainly looking forward to the warmer weather and blooming flowers ahead.

Well, it was a tough week this past week. My computer died and ended up in the shop for a few days but luckily is all fixed up for now. But that distracted me and slowed down progress a bit in the shop. Then a problem developed in a machine which I am still working on fixing, but nothing critical, so the show will go on as they say...

Projects are moving forward despite the little glitches. The Wiener Dog tools are well underway and will be finished in a few days. They are the second in the Little Jimmy series and I think you will enjoy them. In other news, I continue to pick away at the Termites and those will be coming in mid April. I'm still working out the final forms, but a really fun little Mini Bermuda Triangle piece is coming as well and I hope to deliver a surprise TWIST to them. And if I ever get my lazy butt in gear and get some cord cut and tied I will have another Lanslide offering. This is what is great about April 4th...even though the Red Sox probably will suck this year at least they provide a little entertainment while I tie bead cords.

Well, today I have the long promised CPM 3v steel Metric P13 Prybabies done. These are my usual .160 thick stock so they provide a decent weight and thickness without being too heavy on the keys. The wrench sizes are my old odd number metric scale, 5-15mm, because these tools were actually cut a year ago and I'm just now finally getting around to finishing them! BTW, I noticed this morning that I incorrectly wrote on the cards that the wrench sizes were 7-15mm but I double checked and they are indeed 5-15mm. At any rate, going forward, when I make metric tools I will only be using the newer all inclusive wrench scales, 7-12 for Minis or 7-14 for full sized tools.

The 3v Metric P13 Prybabies have a light antique patina finish on them. They will run $70 plus shipping and the purchase link is below. The batch is not very big so it's on per customer on them as usual...have a wonderful weekend everyone and hope spring is coming to you soon as well!